Library's new borrowing system allows patrons to browse virtual catalog

The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Library, a member of the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), is excited to launch BorrowItNow, a consortial borrowing system based on the Relais International D2D product.BorrowItNow allows patrons to discover library materials via a virtual union catalog, which spans across all participating members’ ILS (integrated library systems). BorrowItNow provides for unmediated requests, transmitting real time availability and call numbers to the lending library, while balancing request loads across the consortium.

Said GWLA Executive Director Joni Blake, “Resource sharing is GWLA's oldest program, and one that our members value greatly. This project is in keeping with GWLA's core values of leveraging our collective strength and improving services through innovation and experimentation. We are very excited about the enhanced access to collections and faster service that the Relais D2D platform will bring to the patrons at our member libraries.”

Added Program Office for Resource Sharing Anne McKee, “Relais developed a pricing model for GWLA members that facilitated a very high level of engagement for this three-year project. GWLA is very pleased to have formed this dynamic partnership with Relais.”

UH Mānoa's Naomi Chow, Chair of the GWLA Resource Sharing/Document Delivery Committee, is thrilled with members’ adoption of the system. “The response from the libraries within our consortia has been very enthusiastic -- over 90% of our partner libraries will be participating in the pilot project during its first year! This is in part due to great support for the project from the GWLA Board of Directors. Our libraries are eager to offer our patrons a streamlined and efficient method of unmediated ILL requests. We look forward to working with Relais during our three- year pilot, and hope that GWLA's project, with its size and geographic complexity, will contribute to further innovative system enhancements of value to the library community at large.”

Noted Ryan Litsey, Vice Chair of the GWLA Resource Sharing/Document Delivery Committee, “GWLA continues to raise the bar for ILL (inter-library loan) with the addition of the Relais D2D system. GWLA has a long tradition of setting the standard for turnaround times, consortial cooperation and efficiency. The Relais D2D discovery layer allows GWLA to increase their interconnectedness. BorrowItNow is the largest implementation of Relais D2D to date. Our patrons can now efficiently access one of the most complex and far-reaching Relais D2D systems.”

Participating institutions in the three-year pilot are:

Arizona State University

Baylor University

Brigham Young University

Colorado State University

Iowa State University

Kansas State University

Oklahoma State University

Oregon State University

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Southern Methodist University

Texas A&M University

Texas Tech University

University of Arizona

University of Arkansas

University of Colorado

University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

University of Houston

University of Illinois-Chicago

University of Kansas

University of Missouri-Columbia

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of New Mexico

University of Oklahoma

University of Oregon

University of Southern California

University of Texas

University of Utah

University of Wyoming

Utah State University

Washington State University

Washington University in St. Louis

The Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) is a consortium of 33 research libraries located in the central and western United States. GWLA is a dynamic, effective, project-oriented consortium, nationally recognized as a leader in the transformation of scholarly communication, and a facilitator in the application of new information technologies.

Relais International, based in Ottawa, Ontario, provides solutions for all varieties of libraries or groups of libraries, and offers a full range of interlibrary loan, document delivery and consortial resource sharing services.